Cal Poly

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SAN LUIS OBISPO — In his mind, at least, Matt Hanson needed to be anywhere but at the free-throw line with 1.4 seconds left and the game on the line Thursday night at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs’ 6-foot-7 senior center had had his share of bad foul-line experiences, including missing his first four attempts in the Big West Conference men’s basketball clash with UC Irvine. The last of those misses was the first of two that barely banged off the front of the rim to generate a collective groan from the 1,676 at Mott Gym. Hanson, in fact, had missed 18 of 43 attempts this season to produce an abysmal 34.9% shooting percentage, before mentally relocating to what Mustangs’ Coach Kevin Bromley called his calm, Minnesota fishing place.

IRVINE — UC Irvine senior closer Blair Erickson saved the game Saturday night, but he also saved the drama. Known almost as much for his propensity to throw a scare into both dugouts, as for throwing his trademark darting slider, Erickson's NCAA career record 50th save in the Anteaters' 3-2 Big West Conference triumph over visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo came surprisingly sans suspense. Erickson, who tied former USC standout Jack Krawcyzk for the record with his 49th save Tuesday at UCLA, retired the conference-leading Mustangs in order Saturday, before 1,085 at Anteater Ballpark.

IRVINE — Even the promotions at halftime of the UC Irvine women’s soccer games make it difficult to score. But, unlike the trio of young AYSO players who were rewarded with T-shirts after coming up short on their intermission scoring chances from about 30 yards out against an open net, failure to score earned the Anteaters nothing but continued disappointment in their Big West Conference opener Friday night at Anteater Stadium....

IRVINE - In a conference in which one-upmanship regularly jostles the standings, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo did itself one better to earn a series split with UC Irvine on Thursday at the Bren Events Center. The Mustangs followed an 11-2 run to end the first half with a 13-0 surge to begin the second. By the time the Anteaters ended a scoring drought of 7:15 with 15:21 left in the game, Cal Poly had a 46-32 advantage that never dipped below 10 the rest of the way. The result was a 76-63 Big West Conference women's basketball triumph that further complicated the conference tournament seeding scenario for UCI (11-15, 7-6)

IRVINE - It wasn't the box score, so much as the roster that UC Irvine men's basketball coach Russell Turner used to sum up his team's 66-50 Big West Conference loss to visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Thursday. "The one thing I take from this is that we need to get stronger," said Turner, whose team (6-11, 3-2 in conference) was hurt most by Cal Poly big men Will Taylor (16 points), David Hanson (16 points and 12 rebounds and four assists) and Chris Eversley (11 points and eight boards)

ANAHEIM - Consistency is among the requirements for postseason success and the UC Irvine Anteaters proved, at least through one game of the Big West Conference men's basketball tournament, that they are who we thought they were. Top-seeded UCI handled No. 8-seeded UC Riverside, 63-43, in the quarterfinals Thursday at Honda Center, virtually mirroring two previous wins over the Highlanders this season. The win propels UCI (23-10) and ranked No. 14 in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll, into a semifinal clash Friday at 6:30 p.m. against No. 7-seeded Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

IRVINE — Junior guard Brett Lauer is no longer the feel-good, crowd-favorite, sparkplug off the bench for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team. Making his fifth straight start, his eighth in 16 games this season, against visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Saturday, the 6-foot-1 transfer from San Diego Mesa Community College showed he has become a valued and reliable offensive weapon for the Anteaters. Lauer, who tied his career-high with 14 points in Thursday’s home win over UC Santa Barbara, scored 20 to key a 73-69 Big West Conference triumph over the Mustangs, before 1,512 at the Bren Events Center.

BREN EVENTS CENTER - It's coming down to the wire in the Big West Conference and the UC Irvine men's basketball team (18-8, 11-4 in the Big West), hanging on to second place and hoping to grab first in conference with three regular season contests remaining, battle visiting Cal Poly in a key matchup tonight at 7:05. The Mustangs aren't a team to take lightly as the Anteaters have learned in the past. Cal Poly (14-8, 8-6) defeated visiting UCI, 50-47, on Jan. 26 and upset conference-leading Utah State in the first round of conference action.